ROUND 2 MATCH DAY REPORT

UNDER 10 GIRLS

After the dreaded Round 1 Bye the Under 10 Girls made the trip up the freeway to take on the girls from Wallan, and what a win they had!

From the outset it was so exciting to see the talent in this team. In her first ever game Olive was absolutely everywhere, tackling and moving the ball forward like a veteran. Eadie had an outstanding game, and was rewarded with a couple of goals.

As the game continued on, the girls only grew in confidence and were beginning to link up with handballs and taking marks. Matilda was directing traffic across the ground, helping out her younger teammates. Co-captains Willow and Clara were in and under all day, along with firecracker Isla who kicked a couple.

The game was played in great spirit and the smiles on the faces of the girls after the game was so good to see

Olive took out the Pat Cronin medal for Research and Eadie was best on ground in an overall incredible team effort.

UNDER 14 BOYS

Sunday’s game against Kilmore was undoubtedly a challenging one. Kilmore’s height and physical presence gave them a clear advantage across the ground, particularly in contested situations. They were hungrier and stronger around the ball, more aggressive in their tackling, and dominated the clearances.

While their inaccuracy in front of goal kept the margin closer than it might have been, their control of the game eventually shone through. That said, it was encouraging to see some strong individual performances from Martin, Oscar, and Aston, who stepped up and took on more responsibility, showing personal growth in the tough windy conditions.

This round was the Pat Cronin Round, which holds a deep significance for Research Football Club in particular because it embodies values the club strongly believes in respect, kindness and the power of making wise choices both on and off the field. The foundation, which continues to do incredible work in honouring Pat’s legacy by promoting awareness, education, and action against the Coward Punch.

And a huge congratulations to Callum Ralston, who was named by the Kilmore team as Research’s Best Player on the ground and he was honoured to be awarded the Pat Cronin Medal by Pat’s Mum and Dad (Matt & Robyn Cronin). Cal’s determination, skill, and leadership stood out, and he truly earned the recognition.

The good news is that after that loss, we now have some clear areas to work on, and we’ll focus on these learnings at training this week. The effort was there just after half-time when we fought back and nearly level the scores, it shows what we’re capable of when we apply ourselves. Let’s keep our heads up and keep building. This week game is against Greensborough at War Memorial Park in Greensborough. Go Searchers!

UNDER 16 BOYS

Another step in the right direction for the u16s with a strong team performance against Wallan at home.   Coming up from Div3 last season, we knew very little about our opponents, which gave us a good opportunity to just concentrate purely on us from the start and then make a few adjustments as required.  Our new free flowing game style is taking effect and we are seeing many more scoring opportunities as we move the ball much quicker from one end to the other.   This week we tidied up our disposal a little, which meant we had a lot less turnovers, and our strong start and early big lead meant we could hold them at a comfortable margin for most of the game.   37 goals across the first two games is more than we kicked in the whole second half of last season, so it's very pleasing that the boys are seeing a scoreboard that reflects their buy in to the new free flowing (and exciting) style of play.   Comfortable 9 goal win for the u16 boys in Rd 2.    

13 Goal kickers this week with Boxy, Thommo and Zac all contributing really well with 4 and 9 others all contributing singles.   Morgs was at his usual competitive beast mode and was rewarded with the PC Medal on the day.  Azzy, Linc, Jords and Archie were also amongst the teams best on the day in what was another really even performance.   Big challenge this week as we head away for the first time this year to take on Hursty at their ground.